Scout article on our Wideouts...

Sims seems like he could be the type of big, physical, athletic receiver that this offense would thrive with. Those types would make great blockers as well as make plays in the passing game. He reminds me a ton of Greg Smith, and I was very impressed by his videos.

McKayhan is smaller but seems to have exactly the kind of attitude we need in our receivers - UNSELFISH and TEAM ORIENTED. Coming from Jamie Newberg, it seems he has very good hands and good fundamentals to find ways to get open as well.

The only disappointment at receiver is that we missed Chris Jackson, who I think would've been perfect for our system in a number of ways. I hold out some hope that Bama doesn't do it for him in one way or another and he transfers. But, overall, I'm pleased with who we got at WR.
 
We're plenty deep at WR. I wonder if some of our bigger WRs wouldn't make good slotbacks, honestly.
 
We're plenty deep at WR. I wonder if some of our bigger WRs wouldn't make good slotbacks, honestly.

I agree, I like our WR depth.

What bigger receivers do you think would make good slotbacks? I definitely think Bebe (or a DJ Donley / Calvin Johnson type) should stay at WR - his game doesn't fit that of a slot. He's got the athletic skills to make plays in the passing game but not the running game. Seems like the slots should be the quick/shifty/acceleration/moves/4.4 speed type guys (as opposed to a guy who can jump out of the gym with great body control, good hands, and good straight-line speed, but has trouble making a move to make a guy miss). I definitely think Earls is an intriguing slotback possibility. Maybe G. Smith too, as I've heard he actually wants to play slot, although I like him more at WR.
 
Putting large recievers at the A-Back positions would be stupid. Marcus Wright should tell you exactly what CPJ's offense needs at that position.

A 6-5 guy that takes an hour and a half to get going and has no wiggle is not that guy.
 
The threat of speed from the A backs and the balance of the formation cause a lot of problems for the defense. That doesn't mean from time to time you couldn't sneak in a larger A back in certain situations to power block and catch the defense napping. Dwyer could be the best of both worlds. Whether CPJ would actually do this remains to be seen. I suspect he has all kinds of subtle variations and tweaks he can pull out if he wants.

But in general, I have to agree with Knox. A backs cut block and crack back a fair bit, which doesn't take the biggest guy to do. Further, they present the same conundrum the WRs do: they come out looking like they are going to block, then blow by you on a play action route. Suddenly you are trying to recover against a Wright, Peeples, or R. Jones character, all of whom are 4.4 type guys.

So I would guess we'll just see the small speedy slots with the rare guest appearance as situations dictate. And I would say we are probably more likely to see any so-called "guest appearences" after a season or two, when the offense is fully installed and humming.
 
A-Backs do have to block though, yes?

Good point, yes they do have to block ... A LOT. But, it's not a drive block or even a block you HAVE to hold several seconds. It's a get in the way, slow him down, cut block type of block just to give the QB/pitch man an extra second to get by. So a smaller A-back should be able to execute that type of block just fine.
 
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